Refrigerator.



No. 639,308. Patented Dec. I9, |899. B. M. STEWART. REFRIGEBATUR.

Appl ton fil dAug 9 1899\ 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

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Ty ljhlorgeys.

Patented Dec. I9, |899.,

B. M. STEWART. nEFmGEAToR.'

(Application led Aug.' 9, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

TN: Nonms PETERS so.. moro-umu.. wAsHmGTon. D. c,

iTn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BURGESS MODREL STEWART, OF MASON, TEXAS.

REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 639,308, datedDecember 19, 1899. Application filed August 9,1899. seria No. 726,999.(No man.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, BURcEss MODREL SrEw ART, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Mason, in the county of Mason and State of Texas,have invented a new and useful Refrigerator, of which the following isaspeciiication.

This invention relates to refrigerators in general, and moreparticularly to that class in which the evaporation of water or otherliquid is employed to reduce temperature in substitution of ice, theobject of the invention being to provide a construction in the generalnature of a safe and in which the contents of a vessel at the top of therefrigerator may be caused to pass slowly downwardly and around thearticles upon the several shelves of the safe to maintain a cool andmoist atmosphe-re i Referring to the drawings forming a portion of thisspecification, and in which similar numerals of reference designatecorresponding parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a -perspectiveview showing the exterior of a safe constructed in accordance with thisinvention. Fig. 2 is a central transverse vertical section. Fig. 3 is asection ouy line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4L is a perspective view of aslatted shelf. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective of one of thedrain-boards.

Referring now to the drawings, in a refrigerator embodying thisinvention are comprised ends 5 and 6 and a back 7, consisting of openframes having foraminous coverings, and also doors 8, consisting offrames having foraminous coverings. A lid 9 is hinged to the top of the'casing of the refrigerator and opens into a compartment at the ends ofwhich are fixed rails 10, adapted to receive and support a pan 11,having upWardly-diverging sides 12 and adapted to receive arefrigerating liquid, such as water.

Attached to the sides and ends of the casing are cleats 13, arranged atdifferent levels, the cleats of each level having disposed thereon adrain-board consisting of a cross-piece 14:, the upper face of which isconverged toward the center, and upon which cross-pieces is mounted ametallic plate 15, bent to lie in 5o planes corresponding to the upperface of the cross-pieces,the ends of the platebeing curved upwardly, asshown at 16. Thus is formed a drain-board comprising two slantin gelements meeting at a central ridge. Rising from the ridge of thedrain-board are pins 17, adapted to enter the recesses 18 in the endslats 19 of a shelf comprising side sills 2O and a plurality of slatsintermediate and parallel With the slats 18 and 19. When the shelf isdisposed upon the drain-board, the sills 20 rest upon the upper surfaceof the latter .and the slats lie free of the drain-board, the Width ofthe shelf being less than the width of the drain-board. Fixed to theends of the sills 2O are the inwardly-directed ends of wires 21, whichlie parallel with the side edges of the shelves and are adapted toreceive the ends of sections of fabric 22, which are passed around thewires and then outwardly and over the edges of the drain-board and thendown and across the surface of the shelf below, a similar fabric 23lying upon the uppermost shelf and having its ends extending over theside edges of the vessel 11 and into the water therein.

The bottom of the refrigerator 25 has substantially the same shape asthe drain-boards thereabove, but is inverted, the lowermost shelfresting with its sills upon the upturned edges 26 of the bottom. Alsothe central portion of the bottom is depressed below the under faces ofthe end upturned edges 26, and

the lowermost portion of the bottom is pro' vided with a perforation 27.This bottom 25 completely fills the space inclosed by the framework atthe lower end of the refrigerator, and thus receives all drip from theelements thereabove and also any water of condensation. In practice asuitable vessel (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2) is disposed beneaththe perforation 27 and receives the Water which passes therefrom.

It will be noted upon reference to Fig. 2 that the bottom 25 issupported upon cleats 29, fixed to the inner faces of the ends of thecasing of the refrigerator, while the cleats 13', which are arrangedtransversely of the refrigerator and in the planes of their respec tivecleats 13, are disposed inwardly from the frame of the refrigerator inorder that the IOO a ceases sections of fabric may pass between them andsaid frame. Also it will be seen that the plates of which thedrain-boards are formed project their side edges beyond the cross-pieces111 and that such side edges lie substantially flush with the outerfaces of the cleats 13.

The operation of the construction is as follows: The lid 9 having beenraised, the vessel 11 is placed upon the cleats 10 and asection offabric 23 yof sufficient length has one end placed within the vessel anddipping into a refrigerating liquid contained thereby. The

fabric is then brought downwardly to lie upon the uppermost shelf and ispassed transversely thereof and then upwardly and over the opposite edgeof the vessel l1 and into the liquid therein. A single section of fabrichaving a width substantially equal to the length of the vessel 11 may beemployed, although, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, it is preferableto employ a plurality of sections for reasons that will be evident fromthe following description: Similar sections of fabric 22 are suspendedfrom the wires 2O of the several shelves, the ends of each section offabric being passed under the`wires at opposite sides of its respectiveshelf and extending outwardly and over and in engagement with the sideedges of the drain-board supporting the shelf, the central portion ofthe fabric resting upon the shelf below. As shown in Fig. 3 of thedrawings, the lowermost shelf is not provided with the wires 20; but itis in other respects the same in construction as the other shelves.

When it is desired to place an article of food or a vessel containingany matter within the refrigerator, the section of fabric engaging theupper surface of the shelf upon which the material is to be placed hasone end withdrawn from its support, whether that support be a wire 20 oran edge of the vessel 1l, and that end of the fabric is lowered topermit the placing of the article upon the shelf and resting upon thefabric. The free end of the fabric is then engaged with the support, andthe door of the safe or refrigerator is closed.. In

` this Way each shelf may be filled, and it is obvious that if' thefabric of each shelf is in narrow sections it may be more easily adjusted and more convenient of operation.

With the elements in their proper positions, as shown in Fig. 3, theliquid in the vessel 11 will rise in the fabric and over the edge of thevessel and will then pass downwardly upon the shelf next below. From theshelf the water will run to the drain-board, from the side edges ofwhich it will pass to the fabric in contact therewith and will passdownwardl y through the fabric to the shelf below, this operation beingcontinued until the liquid :finally falls upon the bottom 25, from whichit will drain through the opening 27, as above described. With thisconstruction it will be seen that the articles upon the several shelveswill be inclosed by fabric con'- taining a refrigerant in such conditionas to facilitate evaporation thereof and the formation of a cool andmoist atmosphere.

It will of course be understood that, if desired, clips may be employedto prevent accidental displacement of the fabrics from their supportsand that the specific construction and arrangement shown and describedmay be otherwise varied in the matter of form, proportions, and materialwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. Arefrigerator, comprising a casing havinga vessel therein, a plurality ofdownwardly and outwardly sloping shelves below the vessel, a fabrichaving its ends within the vessel and lying with its portions betweenits ends upon the shelf therebelow, and an additional fabric having itsend portions in contact with the last-named shelf and lying with itsportions between its ends upon the shelf therebelow.

2. A refrigerator, comprising a casing having a vessel therein, aplurality of downwardly and outwardly sloping shelves below the vessel,a fabric having its ends within the vessel and lying with its portionsbetween its ends upon the shelf therebelow, and an additional fabrichaving its end portions in contact with the last-named shelf andprojecting thereabove to direct moisture from the shelf to the fabric,and having its portions between its ends lying upon the shelftherebelow.

3. A refrigerator, comprising a casing hav= ing a vessel therein, aplurality of shelves below the vessel, a drain-board beneath each shelf,a fabric having its ends within the vessel and having its portionintermediate its ends lying upon the shelf therebelow, and additionalfabrics lying upon the succeeding shelves and having their ends attachedto the' shelves next above, and engaging their respective drain-boards.

a. A refrigerator, comprising a casing having a vessel therein, a seriesof drain-boards supported below the vessel, a shelf mounted upon eachdrain-board and having a width less than that of the drain-boards, asupport at each side of each shelf, a fabric resting upon the uppermostshelf and havin-g its ends disposed within the vessel, and a fabriclying upon each succeeding shelf and havin-g its ends in engagement withthe supports carried by the shelves next above, said fabrics being incontact with the drain-boards of the last-named shelves.

5. A refrigerator having a bottom provided with a drain, a vesselsupported in the upper portion of the refrigerator, a plurality ofdrain-boards supported intermediate the, vessel and the bottom of therefrigerator, a shelf disposed upon each drain-board, a shelf upon thebottom of the refrigerator, a support car- IOO esaos e In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afxed my signature in yIethe presence of two witnesses.

BURGESS MQDREL STEWART Witnesses:

CALVIN THAXTON, MINNIE HEY.

